September 2013 Georgia Match
Match Setting Encouraged after the historic win in Spain, the Bosnians retake the road to the Brazil 2014 World Cup with a tough away match against Georgia. In the first leg of this match, Bosnia and Herzegovina brushed away the Georgians and won the match easily, 5-0. Currently Bosnia stands third with 12 points after 6 matches, while the Georgians are 5th with 4 points. FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 'Group 2' Squad The squad was announced on September 6th and consisted of 23 players, with a focus on players on non-Adriatic clubs, Petar Kunic, Josip Lukacevic, Muhamed Subasic and Edin Husic play in the Adriatic Superleague. It consisted on 3 GK, 8 Defensemen (4 Fullbacks and 4 Center Backs), 8 Midfielders (2 Defensive Midfielders, 4 Central Midfielders and 2 Attacking Midfielders), and 4 Strikers. Hoffenheim, Olympiakos and Olimpik Sarajevo were the most represented teams with 2 players each. The Bundesliga was the most represented league with 5 players. Petar Kunic was the only player set to debut internationally. The squad list is after the break: 23-man Squad Missing Players There were no forced player misses, even though Josip Lukacevic and Edin Cocalic worried the physio team, because they were recovering from injuries. Tactics Finally Edin Cocalic wasn't fit enough to play, so Branislav Mikulic decided that Josip Milardovic should take his place. The veteran midfielder was the obvious choice, as he is the only other defense-oriented central midfielder in the squad. The capain Emir Spahic was left out of the starting 11, due to a technical decision. The detail of the positions and roles is in the table that follows. Result and Analysis Bosnia and Herzegovina won the match 4-0 Analysis The match looked a lot harder on paper, but the Bosnians had an awesome match (maybe the best in Mikulic's reign as coach), and stepped on the Georgians, who never got it going. With an aggresive style, Bosnia and Herzegovina pushed up their lines, pressing the rival in their own turf, forcing them to turn the ball often and seizing possession from early on. By 12 minutes, Vedad Ibisevic scored the match's first goal after a great Miralem Pjanic play. A long pass with great precission was captured by Edin Dzeko who broke the offside line and scored in a 1-on-1 with the keeper, just seven minutes later. By 32 minutes, Dzeko interrupted a pass, just outisde the 18-yard box and scored his second personal goal, once again 1-on-1 with the keeper. Just two minutes later, Ibisevic added the fourth goal, with a nice header, after a bad clearance. In the 35th minute Georiga was left with one less player due to a red card. After, Bosnia controlled the match, but let the feet out of the gas pedal, in order to preserve energies. Important Stats Possession % = 39-61 Passes Completed % = 78-81 Shots = 5-17 Clear Cut Chances = 0-4 Long Shots = 2-2 Individual Performances Edin Dzeko was the man of the match, with 2 great goals and always moving off the ball, creating danger and taking marks off of his teammates. Miralem Pjanic played greately also, with 2 assists and his passing, which is always dangerous. He is a triple-threat player (pass, run, shoot), and that always brings danger to the defense. Vedad Ibisevic completes the podium with 2 goals. He was a bit tired and got substituted in the second half.